Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(19)

He smiled as he looked down at me, the light was bouncing from his chiseled features; he was utterly jaw-dropping! His only blemish was that his brows often knitted in frustration, at least when it came to me. When I’d last seen him, he was sporting that sexy stubble but tonight he was clean-shaven. I wanted to lick the side of his face. Dancing with him was a very bad idea.

“You’re nervous; don’t be. What do you expect me to do in a room filled with hundreds of people?”

Torture me. You seem to enjoy that, I thought, as I again was reminded of what happened on the dinner cruise.

“Well, one never knows with someone like you Aiden,” I replied bitterly.

“I suggest you drop the attitude Aria … and maybe go one step further and give the pretense of getting along,” he scolded.

“Is that an order, Mr. Raine?” I asked.

“If it needs to be, then yes.”

“Do you get a perverse kick out of exerting control over your employees?”

“Aria, you should really watch what comes out of your mouth,” he warned.

“Professionally, I intend to but privately, what comes out of my mouth isn’t something you will ever control,” I retorted.

“What about what goes into your mouth?” he asked.

“There’s nothing of yours that I want in my mouth.”

“So no pineapple? And here I thought you wanted to corner the market on that commodity.”

“Oh, I did until I found I was highly allergic so I’ve moved on to something that won’t give me cause for concern.”

“So it’s back to the battery operated boyfriend, I presume. That’s not enough for someone as sensual as you Aria.”

“Presume whatever you wish.”

“You’re so very beautiful Aria. Does your B.O.B. tell you that? Does it kiss you or tell you how sweet you taste? Does it whisper the dirty things that you like to hear as it plunges deep inside that tight cunt of yours? I know how very wet you get when I tell you how hard I want to f*ck you. And I’m certain your * is seeping for me right now. Tell me it’s not.”

Virginia’s quiet murmurs swiftly transitioned to pounding throbs “Will you please stop?”

“I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

“No, I mean just what I said. I can’t. You’re a hard woman to forget.”

We stared at each other in silence. Now that I was engulfed in his aura, my mind was fluttering. He was a hard man to forget but no way was I telling him that.

“Enjoy your evening Aiden,” I said, when the song ended. I turned to leave but he reached for my arm, pulling me back.

“Can you at least give me a minute?” he asked.

“You just had several, so that would be a no.”

He placed his hand at the small of my back and pressed me forward. I reluctantly walked alongside him. As soon as we were away from the glare of prying eyes, he stopped and turned to face me.

“What is it?” I demanded. “What do you want Aiden?”

“You know what I want. I want you.”

“Is your date aware of that?” I asked.

“You’re the woman that I want to be with, Aria.”

“You say you want me now…when you’re with me but as soon as you walk out the door, I have no idea of what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, what’s real, what’s not … I can’t do that with you again.”

“Aria, you need to know that I feel the same way about you whether I’m in your presence or not, but I have responsibilities. I can’t devote all of my time to us. I don’t know if I would if I could. That’s just not who I am but you really need to trust me and trust my feelings for you.”

“Are you done? I don’t have the time or inclination to get lost in the revelries of a relationship, especially with you. Besides, the time for this particular conversation is several weeks too late.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“What we had is over,” I said.

“It isn’t for me and I know it isn’t over for you either so stop with the bullshit Aria.”

No it wasn’t. But it should be. I needed it to be. Being here with him like this, the flood gates were opening and all of those feelings were threatening to be unleashed.

“I know I ruined it. But it wasn’t because I didn’t love you ... I did. I still do. I just went about all of this the wrong way,” he said.

“All of this doesn’t matter now,” I said.

“But it does. I’m asking for a second chance ... a chance to make this right,” he said. The impassioned plea in his smoldering gaze was almost tangible. But that didn’t matter, not after all he’d done ... what he was still doing.

“A second chance? Is that why you came here with the redhead drenched all over you?” I asked.

“I can explain that. It’s not what you think,” he replied.

“Aiden, I can’t do this with you now. Please.”

“Well, tell me when.”

“There’s not going to be a when. Why can’t you accept that?”

“I won’t accept it,” he said.

“Well that’s just too damn bad,” I replied.